The Cowboy and His Best Friend

  THE COWBOY AND HIS BEST FRIEND

  Rock Springs Texas 2

  Kaci Rose

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright © 2020, by Kaci Rose. All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Book Cover By: Sweet Heart Books

  Editing By: SJS Editorial Services

  BLURB

  A best friend’s second chance romance. Who meets their soul mate at six years old?

  Sage

  I met him when I was six. When he saved my life at age ten, we became instant best friends. At age fourteen, I returned the favor. We knew then we had a bond. But who meets their soulmate at age six? Years later, I’m in the hospital again, and he hasn’t left my side. Can we put the past behind us? And what about his playboy reputation…

  Colt

  I knew since I was ten, I would marry her. She would run the ranch with me and be the mother to our kids. Only her. When she ran all those years ago, it broke my heart. After a series of false rumors and misunderstandings, we have another chance now. Only now, I must prove I’m not the playboy this town has made me out to be.

  Meet the small town of Rock Springs, Texas with a family that has your back, a town that knows your business, and men who love with everything they have.

  There are plenty of horses, nights under the stars, sweet tea, and a few road trips!

  Get ready for some HOT Texas Nights!

  Warning:

  This is a romance with a sexy cowboy and a strong woman who have a lot of heat! This sexy full-length romance. Complete with a happy ever after, no cheating, and no cliffhanger!

  This book may have some trigger points centering around abuse and what makes these characters strong and protective and justice is always served!

  Readers 18+, please.

  DEDICATION

  TO THE COFFEE THAT KEPT ME GOING AND THE KIDS THAT CALL ME MOMMY.

  CONTENTS

  The Cowboy and His Best Friend

  Copyright

  Blurb

  Dedication

  To the coffee that kept me going and the kids that call me mommy.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Epilogue 3

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  PROLOGUE

  Sage

  Eleven Years Ago

  You protect your family. Always. That’s how Mom and Dad raised me even before they adopted me. Blaze is my best friend and when my bio parents became abusive, he was there for me and later, so was Colt.

  So, when Colt’s dad rolls into town, I know I must be there for him too. Colt’s dad is just as abusive as my dad used to be, but Colt’s dad only shows up once or twice a year when he needs money. Last time he came in, he wiped out his mom’s bank account, stole anything of value from the house, and left all while Colt’s mom was at work.

  Unfortunately, Colt was home that day and ended up with two black eyes and a broken rib. That was almost two years ago, so we knew he’d be here anytime. We may have only be fourteen, but Colt and I make a vow. This ends this time.

  I can only imagine what Blaze would think if he knew. I know he wants us safe, but he has never had to live in that kind of fear. I know what it’s like to finally feel safe, loved, and not have to worry. I want to give that gift to Colt.

  So, when he doesn’t show up to school? I know. I call Mom and make up a story of getting my period and needing to come home to change. I hate lying to Mom, but she picks me up. I think she knows I’m lying. She could have brought me clothes to change into, but she never even suggests it. I just don’t think she knows my plans. I know she would stop me.

  We live on a huge ranch, so we kids have been driving cars and trucks for a while. Then after everything with my bio parents, I have learned how to shoot a gun, and I’m good. I can hit a moving target spot on. It has made me feel safe knowing I can protect myself even though that scumbag is behind bars for a long time. Maybe my gut knows I’d need it today.

  So, when Mom goes to the barn to see Dad, I grab my gun, bullets, and keys to the ranch truck. I leave a note for Mom and head back into town. Back to Colt, sending up a silent prayer I’m not too late.

  On the way, I call Blaze and tell him he needs to meet me at Colt’s place. He says he’s on the way and for me to wait until he gets there. It’s a ten-block walk from the school.

  I have every intention of waiting, I do. But when I get there, I hear screaming and his mom crying. My heart breaks. I whip out my phone, dial 911, and rattle off Colt’s address. I leave the phone on the seat, never hanging up, while I jump out and run to his front door before I can think. I see Colt hiding behind the living room couch with his hands over his ears. He’s crying. What I see his dad doing to his mom over the dining room table is, well…

  I may be young, but I know what rape is. His dad is waving a gun around with a crazy look in his eyes. I know I must do something fast. The thought of Colt being hurt turns my gut.

  I get in the door quietly but not enough. His dad sees me and turns his evil smile on me. He throws his mother to the ground like a rag doll, and she hits her head on the corner of the dining room table. In a split second, I notice the blood coming from the cut. It’s a lot of blood.

  It’s then I see his dad stalking toward me, and I whip out my gun. Before he can aim his, I pull the trigger on mine. He drops to the floor, and red blood pools around his head. I just stand there in shock.

  I killed him.

  I killed him and I don’t even feel bad. What’s wrong with me?

  I see Colt run to him mom, but I still can’t move. My eyes don’t leave the blood pooling around his dad’s head. The thoughts I have right then surprise me, like I wonder how hard it will be to get the blood out of the wood floor.

  Then I feel Colt’s arms around me, trying to pull me from the house.

  “Your mom,” I say a bit in shock.

  “She’s gone, Sage. Let’s get out of here.”

  We get outside and sit on the porch steps. Colt pulls me into his lap and holds me close, running his hands over my arms, asking me over and over if I’m okay.

  When I finally look at him, I notice he has a black eye forming and a busted lip. He has a bruise that looks like a handprint on his arm and some blood on his shirt.
<
br />   Without thinking, I lean in and kiss his black eye ever so gently. His body shudders, and he sighs and pulls me even closer.

  “I’m fine; are you okay?”

  He lets out a sigh of relief. “As long as you’re okay, so am I.”

  He holds me and, in his arms, the world doesn’t matter. Then I hear him whisper, “Thank you, Sage. I love you, always.”

  Blaze runs up at the same time the sheriff gets there. Mom and Dad are about fifteen minutes behind them. Colt wants to protect me, but I tell the truth, all of it. The sheriff, a family friend, says it was self-defense, and he will overlook me driving without a license.

  I have a hundred hours of community service and several lectures about when to call 911 and doing as the dispatcher says.

  Mom and Dad take Colt in, no questions asked. Six months later, he is officially adopted.

  A few days after everything settles, Mom and Dad sit with me and ask why I did it. Why I didn’t wait for them. They aren’t mad; they just want to know.

  “You protect family, and Colt is my family.”

  They tell me they are proud of me but go over all the things I should have done differently. We talk for hours about what I should have done and what happened in detail.

  That’s why I love Mom and Dad. They may not have liked what happened, but they will share the burden with me.

  From that day on, Colt and I share a bond. One that will be tested over and over. In the end, it will be what saves us too. That love is something no one can break.

  CHAPTER 1

  Sage

  Dammit, how do I always end up in these situations? At least this time, it’s just a knife stab. That hurts a lot less than being shot, and the healing time should be less.

  At least this time, it isn’t me who kills the bastard.

  Two thoughts I never expect to have in my life.

  I open my eyes and see Colt standing across the room, looking out the window. The pain in my chest has nothing to do with the slice from the knife and the subsequent stitches.

  Earlier today, Jed broke into my house, coming after Riley. She had run from him a while ago because he was abusive, and no one in the small town she lived in would help her.

  She took off and by the grace of God, a trucker named Lilly picked her up. Lilly brought Riley here in Rock Springs Texas on her regular stop, and somehow Riley ended up in our barn. Blaze hasn’t left her side since then. It reminds me of how Colt and I used to be.

  When we get her to press charges, Jed flees and later ends up at the house. After some fighting, he sliced my chest deep, but Blaze came in and shot him dead.

  Thank God for Texas and the charges already against Jed, the fact he broke in, hit Riley hard, and my knife wound, Blaze won’t be charged. The sheriff, who is a family friend, already has promised us that.

  My mind thinks back to the last time I was in a hospital bed. Colt was by my side then too. He never left, of course, we were kind of dating then even though no one knew it.

  Nine Years Ago

  Mac isn’t in school today. I know something is wrong. I had seen the signs of abuse. He knows I know, but we don’t talk about it. His dad is out of town this weekend for work, so he’s spending the weekend at home with us.

  It’s the first time he has been so relaxed, but also the first time I get to see the bruises he keeps covered. Mom and Dad know we have to help him.

  But when he doesn’t show up at school today, I just know something bad has happened. So, I leave school and go home to get my gun, the one I learned how to shoot better than anyone in town after the issues with my sperm donor. The gun that freed Colt.

  Then I text Blaze and Colt to tell them what’s going on. I know they won’t be far behind me. Mac lives on the local Indian reservation. But from what I can tell, they have asked too many questions of his dad, so he has been sent to our school in town.

  My family has always had a great relationship with the reservation, and I can just hope that keeps up after today.

  I get to Mac’s house, and I hear the yelling even before I get out of the car. Mac’s mom died of cancer a few years back, and his dad hasn’t been right ever since. The more he drinks, the worse it gets. Mac has an older sister who is seventeen, and I know he takes the brunt to protect her.

  From what I can tell, she turns eighteen in a few weeks and has planned to try to get custody of Mac and get away from their dad. Too bad she can’t do it now.

  I send a final text to Blaze and Colt telling them his dad is here, and it’s bad. They text back, telling me to wait. They are minutes away. I don’t answer. I won’t lie to them, but I won’t wait either.

  I get out of the car and peek in a window. I see some movement and notice his sister in the corner crying. She sees me, and her eyes go wide. I hold my finger to my mouth, telling her to be quiet. She nods.

  ‘Where are they?’ I mouth. She points toward the kitchen in the back of the house. I can’t see them from here, but I can hear them.

  I quietly open the door and beckon her outside. She looks toward the kitchen, then moves as quietly as she can.

  “Get in my car and lock the doors. Get down on the floor. Take my phone and call 911,” I whisper in her ear. She nods and runs off. I quietly move around the room to peek into the kitchen. I see Mac’s dad has him pressed against the wall by his throat. Mac, even though he’s only thirteen, is an inch bigger than his dad. My heart hurts seeing him like this. Mac has a black eye, a split lip, and a gash at his temple, and he’s fighting to stay conscious. I don’t have time to wait for Blaze and Colt.

  I also don’t see his dad has a gun. I step out from behind the wall and say, “Put him down,” in hopes of bringing his attention to me. It works, but he pulls a gun on me. Thanks to my training, I pull mine, and we each get off a shot before my world goes dark.

  His bullet hits my shoulder, mine hits him between the eyes. I wake up in the hospital room, and Colt is right beside me for the weeks I’m there. He takes me to every physical therapy appointment and is my rock.

  A lot has happened over the years, but my feelings for Colt haven’t changed. I guess now it’s time to face it. After a second near-death experience, I don’t have hope to walk out of a third one alive. Now or never.

  The rest of my family has been here this evening, but they all have gone home. I know Colt won’t leave my side tonight. Blaze won’t leave Riley’s side, so I know she’s safe. Hunter will watch out for Megan, and I know Jason and Mac will watch Mom and Dad. I can relax a bit.

  “We need to talk about it,” I say.

  He turns around, and his eyes snap to mine. I see a split moment of relief seeing me awake and talking before he asks, “About what?”

  I take a deep breath. “Why I left.”

  He paces the room, and I take in his tall six-foot, one-inch build with brown hair and green eyes, a chiseled jaw, a tan from working outside. He has the cowboy body with muscles for days.

  He has a new tattoo on his arm that wasn’t there when we were kids, but I haven’t been able to get a good look at it since we avoid each other as much as possible.

  He has always been good looking, even as kids, but it’s hard to look at him now and not want to rip his clothes off and have my way with him. I guess that’s why I’ve been avoiding talking to him.

  “Not now, Sage,” he finally says.

  “Colt, it wasn’t about you.”

  “Sure as hell felt like it was.”

  “I know, it’s just…” I whisper but take a deep breath, resting my head back on the pillow. “That night before graduation was the best night of my life.”

  He looks at me, and his eyes soften. “Mine too,” he says and walks back toward the bed.

  “But I panicked. Who meets their soulmate at six years old? Then when you said you loved me, you used the same words my sperm donor would say to my bio mom, and I had flashbacks. I freaked out. Okay? I freaked. I was scared, and I didn’t know any better.”

  “Two
years, Sage. You were gone for two years.”

  “I know, but you never called, texted, or came after me either. Then I heard you were sleeping around. I came back for Megan’s graduation. I had planned to stay but when Kelli told me you were with her and how she had tamed you and you two were together, I cried myself to sleep that night. I left again the next day.” I see his face go pale as I tell him what happened.

  “What did she say?”

  “Does it really matter?”

  “Yes.”

  I sigh and look up at the ceiling. “She said you were known around town as a great lay and had a new woman every weekend, but she had finally locked you down. She said you two were in love.”

  He paces again, running his fingers through his hair.

  “None of that was true. Dammit,” he mutters the last part more to himself.

  This catches my attention, and I look over at him again. “What? I still see you two around each other now. What wasn’t true?”

  “By Megan’s graduation, I hadn’t slept with anyone. I had been spending time at the bar, but I’d see a woman get trashed. I’d make sure they got home okay. I never touched them, kissed them, nothing.”

  He pauses and takes a deep breath. “I kept thinking if it was you, I’d want someone to make sure you got home okay. I guess I was hoping if I did enough good, the big man upstairs would watch out for you.” Another pause and another deep breath. “When you left after Megan’s graduation, I was so mad and hurt. I did sleep with Kelli then. It was only sex, and she knew that from the beginning. It stopped when you came back into town.”

  I shake my head, trying to make sense of everything. “She was always telling me about all these dates you guys would go on. They always corresponded with nights you came home late.”

  “So, you believe her over me? After all this time, after everything, what I say means nothing?” He raises his voice.